Kidnapping, Ransom, and Wallflowers
by Zolnerovich
Summary: An AU 1930s-ish story focused mostly on a private detective trying to find and rescue Gail Collins, the mother of Laurie Collins aka Wallflower.
1. Chapter 1: Doe Eyes

Disclaimer: This is a fan fiction-esque story written about a few of the New X-Men specifically Laurie Collins aka Wallflower. The main character is an OC. So I don't own most characters that show up, but I do claim rights to Edward Griffin.

Author's Note: This is just a silly little short story meant to be written in the style of a 1930's style detective. This is what happens when I read nothing but Dashiell Hammett for a month, am over tired, and have some extra writing time. It's not meant to be great literature, just a fun adventure mystery romp. Please feel free to review, critique, etc. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1: Doe Eyes

Some say that autumn brings about the change of all things. The continual death and rebirth that the world goes through from autumn, into winter, and then spring once more. It always happens. Every year. Edward Griffin couldn't even imagine what a year would be like if it didn't happen. Perhaps it'd be a lot like not having to clean the gutters, or sweep the leaves off the window when you opened it up.

This particular window was three stories up in an office building that was older than most of its occupants. It was the only window he had, and the outer ledge of it always piled up with leaves from who knew where. Once in a while he'd open it up, brush the leaves off and shut the window again. When work was slow. And work seemed to be slow.

Two divorce cases had just been wrapped up, and that had wrapped up what business the Griffin Detective Agency had open. Now he had to sit, and wait. The familiar staring contest with the door bearing the agency name had been going on for a while now. So far the door was winning. Giving up, he stood to pour himself a glass of scotch. That was when the door rattled with her knock.

She stepped in before he could respond, but held the door half closed, as if hiding herself behind it. She was a real doe eyed doll. She was a beauty, but one that was stuck in coach instead of riding first class through life. She wore a business suit and a sensible pair of heels, if anyone could call heels sensible. Her nails weren't painted, but they were well kept, and her voice was soft, sensitive almost, as if afraid she might be speaking too loudly.

"Are you Mister Griffin?"

He pointed towards the door, then to himself and nodded.

She told him her name was Laurie Collins. He told her to have a seat.

"What can I do for you Miss Collins?" He asked as he put the bottle away and sat down behind his desk once more.

Laurie took a seat across and gazed at him with her crystal blue eyes and then locked them onto the desk and wouldn't move them again. "I'll get right to the point Mister Griffin. My mother's been kidnapped."

"Your mother's been what?" Griffin asked.

"Kidnapped." She responded.

"That's what I thought you said. Look kid, here's the phone, all right?" He handed her the rotary that he kept on his desk on top of a few scattered case files.

"The phone?" She didn't understand.

"Call the police kid. A kidnapping ain't a job for a guy like me. That's official business."

"I don't think you understand…" She started. "I can't call the police." Her eyes started to leak, and she pulled a handkerchief from her purse.

"You mean it's a ransom?" Look at that, a detective can put two and two together.

"Not exactly." She explained.

"Then what exactly?" Griffin countered.

When the girl started crying full stop he surrendered, putting the phone back onto his desk proper.

"All right. All right." He offered her the handkerchief he kept in his desk. It was clean, unlike the one in his pocket. "Why don't you start from the beginning?" He paused. "When you can."

It took her a few moments, but she finally calmed herself down to something of a whimper, enough to tell her story. "I live with my mother in a small apartment in the city. It's not much but we make do." She blew her nose. "My father left when I was little. Mother says he's no good, and we're not supposed to have anything to do with him. I certainly haven't. Well… when I came home today I found the apartment trashed. I mean… stuff was torn up, knocked over, drawers turned out, everything."

"Was anything stolen?" Griffin interjected.

"No." Laurie answered.

"You're sure?"

"I checked. All the jewelry was there scattered, but there save what my mother and I were wearing. Our rainy day money was still in our spot, un-touched. I guess they didn't find it, but there were other things of value that weren't taken. Little decorations and such."

"And your mother?"

"Gone." Laurie answered.

"Any sign of struggle? A note?"

"Well, the place was overturned pretty much, and I wouldn't know what to look for, but there was this." She passed over a piece of paper that'd been folded four times. Pocket size.

It read very simply: 'Sean, if you want to see your wife again you know who to talk to. '

"Sean's your father?"

"Sean Garrison." Laurie volunteered the information as though it were of no consequence. She didn't know who Sean Garrison was.

"Do you know what your father does for a living?"

"Mother always said he was a no good, two bit con."

"Your mother was right. Probably. At the time that she said it." Griffin stood up. "Sean Garrison is one of the city's wealthiest men. He's a confidence trickster all right, but the cops don't have anything substantial that they can hold on him. He's never been charged. It's like he has a way of… controllin' people. It looks like someone's lookin' for a way to control him."

"With my mother?"

"Does your mother still use the name Garrison?"

"No. "

"Did she when she rented the apartment?"

"…Yes."

"That's her legal name still?"

"Well… yes."

"That's how. Whoever it is obviously doesn't know Garrison that well. Or they might be new to this. Either way they probably didn't know about you."

"Why do you say that?"

"Daddy's little girl sells for a lot more than any man's old lady."

"What?"

"It means they probably would have kidnapped you instead if they'd have known about you, but they didn't. They thought the second person in the apartment was Garrison."

"But he-"

"I know." Griffin shook his head. "You still ought to call the police."

"But… but if I do…"

"I know." Griffin tsked. Kidnappers got awful jumpy whenever the cops were called. And if the kidnappers were new to this, then that was all the more reason to be afraid – it meant they weren't very good or very professional. They were liable to make messy mistakes.

"Will you… take the case?" She looked up for the first time since she came in, and her blue crystalline eyes pleaded with him in a way that only eyes could.

"It's twenty nine dollars a day, plus expenses. One day retainer."

She faltered a little but nodded. Taking out the checkbook and writing him one for his first day's pay. He didn't want to take her money really, but he had to eat. "We don't have much money." She warned.

"I'll try to be quick. For anything else we can have you pay it as you can." He shook his head. "I've gotta make a few phone calls. You got a place you can stay?"

"The apartment."

"Anywhere else? Friends? Family?"

"No. We pretty much keep to ourselves." She answered.

"Sounds lonely and inconvenient."

She seemed like she hadn't quite heard that. "I'm sorry?"

"I said you're now under protective custody. You can't go back there. If the kidnappers find out Garrison has a daughter… well, they'll want to add you to their collection. As for now… I've got someone I know who can put you up for a few nights while I work this out."

"Thank you Mister Griffin."

He told her she could call him Griff.

End Chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 2: Nice Shoes

Chapter 2: Nice Shoes

Protective custody. That was what he had offered the girl. Unfortunately he had better things to do than lock the doe eyed damsel into a room and stand guard. He had detective work to do. First, he had to find out who the kidnappers were, he had to find out where they were keeping this girl's mother, and then he had to get her home in one piece. He had a few places to start, but before he could do any of that, he had to get the girl to a safe house of some kind.

He led the girl down the stairs from his office, which he locked behind him. Down the street and around the corner was parked his ride, an old green bucket of parts that he'd been scraping back together for too long. It wasn't very impressive, but it would get him where he needed to go occasionally.

"This is your car?" The blonde asked.

"No, this is my dog." He smirked. "Get in."

She complied, albeit gingerly. When he started the car it roared to life like some kind of sleeping elephant that had been given a pinch. It lurched more than it rolled, but it got them to where they were going. A run down brick building near the docks. It wasn't the kind of neighborhood that was very safe, but he knew a safe place amidst the hazards.

He knocked on a door in a back alley and waited. A few seconds later an eye level window slid open, a pair of dark eyes on the other side, and then the window slid shut. No words were exchanged, but after a few seconds the door clicked open. Ed led the way.

The speakeasy was little more than a run down room. It had a bar, a tender, and a kitchen behind that. The food was good, even without the drinks, but it wasn't very patronized. Business was slow at this time of day. The only people there were Ed, Laurie, the tender, and a large black cat that lay curled at the end of the bar.

"Hey Ben." Ed nodded towards him. "I got a girl here needs a place to lay low. She's an innocent, needs protecting. Can you keep an eye on her?"

The cook and bartender looked at him for a second, and then went back to cleaning the glasses that were under the counter. The large black cat stretched and walked across the bar, stopping in front of Laurie and pushing its head against her.

"Thanks." Ed nodded as he started to leave.

"Griff? Wait!" Laurie nearly stumbled after him.

"What?" Ed looked back over his shoulder.

"You're just going to leave me here?" Her eyes were scared, she obviously wasn't used to neighborhoods like this, and he couldn't hold that against her.

"You'll be safe. Just stay at the bar. You're in go-" He stopped himself from saying 'good'. "You're in safe hands. Pet the cat, you'll be fine."

"But-" She started to protest and Ed moved closer towards her, a silent warning to not begrudge the hospitality of her new hosts.

"Ben, see that she gets some food, huh? The normal kind." With that he nodded his goodbye to Laurie and headed back to his car. It was still there waiting for him, hadn't been stolen, of all the rotten luck.

It lurched its way to his first destination. The girl had given him the address of the apartment where she lived with her mother. He knew the place had been tossed, and the note had been left, which he'd read, so he might not find anything more of value there, but it never hurt to check.

He parked a block away and walked over, taking the stairs up to their floor. He tried the door - it was locked. He looked up and down the hall, just to be sure that he wasn't being watched. He listened, just at the door. He heard movement. No voices.

He waited. More noises. Shuffling. Breathing. Panting. Nothing telling. Maybe it was a man, someone big. It was impossible to tell for sure. Though there was one way to tell if the person belonged there. He knocked.

It probably wasn't one of his more clever schemes, but if the person belonged in the apartment, which was improbable, they'd save him the trouble of having to kick in the door. If they didn't belong in the apartment, they'd either try to be quiet and hope he went away, or they'd make tracks, out the window, fire escape, what have you.

What he wasn't expecting was for the door to suddenly fly at him, kicked outward and off its hinges. It flew straight at him and smashed into him with surprising speed. He didn't even have a chance to draw his gun before he landed on his back. The door crushed against him, being stepped on.

"Where is my daughter?" He could hear the voice, but he couldn't see the face due to the door pressing down on his face and chest.

He tried to get a wisecrack out but he found it difficult to get a breath in with the man standing on a door. He turned his head, okay, only one foot was on the door, the other was standing next to him, and a pair of much nicer shoes were behind them, towards his own waist. That was the man asking the questions.

"Give the man a chance." The man with the nice shoes said.

The pressure on his chest lightened as the bigger man moved his foot. Without any help Ed slid the door off and stood up. Catching his breath a little haggardly.

"Now where is my daughter?" The man in nice shoes was average in height, handsome of face, and muscular of build. His blond hair was cut short, nice and trim, and he had a clean-shaven face.

The bigger man wasn't so nice. He looked like something out of a pirate novel, a large and burly type with a big tangled beard. He's the one who had kicked the door in.

"Who's your daughter?" Ed asked.

"Hit him." The fist connected as if the Burly man had wanted to do it, and just waiting for the order. It connected hard on his jaw and made him take a step backwards. It knocked his teeth together, and split his lip.

"Who are you?" Ed wiped his lip.

"Sean Garrison." Answered the man with nice shoes. "Now. Where is my daughter?"

"Safe." Ed answered. "Which is more than I can say for you if your monkey hits me again."

The brute didn't react, didn't even seem to notice. It was like he was under some kind of spell. He only seemed to respond to Sean's words. "Hit him."

This time Ed dodged the first one, but the second made contact with his ribs. It took the wind out, but he straightened up after. "She hired me to find the kidnappers and your wife."

"Ex wife." Sean corrected.

"Ex wife." Ed agreed. "But whoever took her doesn't know that. How did you know she was gone?"

"I didn't. Came by because she didn't answer my calls. Found the place trashed. No note. I assumed they were robbed. But kidnapped?"

"Someone who hates you took Gail to get to you."

"They chose poorly." Sean shook his head.

"I don't think they knew about Laurie. They thought you and your wife were still together."

"They were ill informed." Sean stepped closer this time instead of the brute. "And who are you supposed to be anyway?"

"Edward Griffin. Private eye."

"Follow me." Sean nodded down the hall. Ed didn't know exactly why, or what he had to gain from it, but he followed.


	3. Chapter 3: Tricks

Chapter 3: Tricks

The Bruiser put the door back against its frame as Sean Garrison led the way down the hall, and down the stairs. A few minutes later the Bruiser came trotting up behind them, and stayed one step behind Garrison. When they were out on the street Ed thought about disappearing, but part of him wanted to know what Garrison was up to, and he knew his best chance of getting any useful information was to stick around. Garrison led the way to a nice black car. "Get in."

"You want to tell me where we're going?" Ed asked. Sean glanced to the Bruiser and Ed raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright." He ducked into the car and took a spot on the back seat. Sean slid in next to him and the Bruiser took the driver's seat.

The car roared to life in a fashion Ed only wished his could, and smoothly pulled out into traffic. Sean apparently didn't want to wait until they were at their destination, so the talk started up right away.

"Tell me what you know about me Mister Griffin." Garrison smoothed out his pant legs.

"I only know a little bit, Doctor Garrison." Griff looked him over. They hadn't taken the gun that was in his shoulder holster, so they weren't planning on killing him, but he didn't know how much information Garrison liked other people having.

"Tell me." Garrison returned.

"I know that officially you're a shrink. A psychiatrist for the rich and famous of the city, some of the important politicians too, when a nut turns up in a family tree it's your number they call. Unofficially the rumors are that you're a blackmailer and a manipulator. Nothing could be proven of course, but it's said that if you want to know a secret, you're the man to talk to."

"And what do you think of these rumors?"

"I don't need to think anything of them. If the police had any evidence on them they'd be in the papers and you'd be in jail."

Sean was quiet a moment. "What do you know of my family?"

"Only what the girl told me. She and your ex-wife have been on their own for a while, you left when she was younger, and since then she hasn't had any contact with you."

Sean shook his head. "That's a lie. I didn't leave. Her mother did. Took her with her."

Ed raised an eyebrow. "You still love her?"

"I love my daughter." Sean corrected. "I send her mother weekly checks, to see their taken care of."

"Why'd she leave?" Not that it had anything to do with the case, but Ed was curious.

"Her mother felt I'd forced her into it. The marriage. She didn't want Laurie to grow up into me. It's complicated."

Ed was silent for a moment, not that he wasn't curious, but it wasn't useful information, he needed to find out more about the case. "Can you tell me anything about this?" He offered Sean the card that had been left at the scene. 'Sean, if you want to see your wife again you know who to talk to.'

Sean read it and his eyes seemed to burn. Ed took that as a yes. "No." Sean answered.

"Work harder at lying." Ed retorted.

"I can't be sure." Sean amended.

"Guess. Your ex-wife's life could be at stake."

"But Laurie's safe?"

Ed's eyes grew wide, he didn't think he wanted to answer.

"Uh, boss?" The Bruiser spoke for the first time, Ed hadn't been sure that the ape was capable of speech. Looking up the man's eyes were in the rear-view mirror.

Sean glanced forward and then behind him, Ed looked too. A black Wolseley was gaining ground behind them. Ed took stock of their surroundings; they were near the docks, surrounded by warehouses and the like.

"Friends of yours?" Ed asked.

Sean didn't answer but leaned forward into the front seat, pulling a pistol out of the glove box. "Can you use that thing?" He glanced to the gun in Ed's jacket.

Ed didn't know if he wanted to, but he could if he had to. "Can your Pinkerton mook out drive them?"

The bruiser's eyes narrowed.

No one had a chance to retort as the glass of the rear window shattered in. Ed ducked down behind the seat just in time to avoid a spray of bullets that rattled the car's frame. Sean had ducked too. The firing stop for a second and Ed peaked up, returning fire.

They were gaining faster, no, their car was slowing down. Ed ducked down again and looked forward, the car was rolling to a stop as the Pinkerton agent had his face in the steering wheel, blood oozing from holes in his neck and head.

Gun fire was exchanged a couple of times, but it looked like the men in the Wolseley were getting ready to ram them. Ed loaded a fresh magazine into his Colt 1911. "You get into that warehouse, I'll cover you."

"What?" Garrison shouted over the gunfire.

"You heard me! I want to ask these triggermen a few questions! Now go!" Ed took a few well-aimed shots in a spray over the enemy car that was gaining ground. Sean kicked open the door and slid out behind him, running into the warehouse that was closest. Once he was inside Ed ducked down again and loaded.

He looked up again just in time to leap out of the car, the Wolsely slammed into it, crumpling the front end of the trigger car and the rear end of the car he had been in just moments before. Even steel crumpled under enough force.

He leveled his gun at the car, but no gunshots came. He stepped closer carefully. Someone coughed. He raised his gun and pointed it at the front door. "Come out slowly. Carefully."

A hail of bullets started towards him, luckily they were wide, to the left. He moved to the right and side stepped his way back behind cover. There was a grating noise, and a few huffs, then he heard footsteps, someone had crawled out of the wreckage. He didn't wait to see who.

Once he'd gotten inside the Warehouse Sean rested against the wall next to the door, ready to shoot whoever opened it. The warehouse seemed to be a storage unit of some sort. Shipping containers and the like were in neat lines, he didn't have that much time to pay attention. The door opened but no one came in. He pulled it shut, making sure the wind wouldn't open it again.

"You okay?" The detective's voice came from behind him. He almost shot the man for startling him, but he appeared to have made it out without getting shot.

"How did you-"

"You have your tricks, I have mine." Ed answered.

"Are they all – "

"Dead? No. There's one still looking for us, but he won't see the door." Ed assured him.

"How can you be sure?"

Ed just looked at him for a moment and then shook his head. "You got any idea who they are?"

"Yes." Sean answered, leaning against the wall once again, just in case.

"You gonna tell me or am I gonna have to go back out there and tell them where you are?"

"You wouldn't dare." Sean leveled his gun at Ed's chest.

"Try me." Ed smiled, unnervingly confident for a man with a gun at his chest.

"Have you ever heard of Reverend William Stryker?"


End file.
